Taken With a pitch of Salt
by doctorchan80
Summary: This story includes clichés such as: OC from alternate universe that has Doctor Who show arrives mysteriously and changes events, OC whose looks/species change by entering the Doctor's universe, OC TimeLady/OC who doesn't know she is a TimeLady, OC who somehow ends up 'with' the Doctor despite that not being her intention, clueless OC and OC with low self-esteem.


Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story. All creative rights to the characters belong to their original creators. Any parts resembling the works of others are not used maliciously with the intent to profit or claim ownership.

With special thanks to the chakoteya website for its transcriptions of the episodes which helped to better this work.

This story includes clichés such as: OC from alternate universe that has Doctor Who show arrives mysteriously and changes events, OC whose looks/species change by entering the Doctor's universe, OC TimeLady/OC who doesn't know she is a TimeLady, OC who somehow ends up _'with' _the Doctor despite that not being her intention, clueless OC and OC with low self-esteem. All _this_ being one OC who ends up in the Doctor's universe, mostly unaware that she is no longer who she was etc.

If you cannot handle these overused clichés used in congruence with each other to the point of exasperation, turn back now.

I would also like to mention that though I am not an expert on Time Lords, I'm very aware of a lot of the information on them that is canon. So if there are points where I don't make reference to abilities or something that she should have/know, that is only because

1) She doesn't narrate x though she is aware of x (though you may notice that she hints at things if you read between the lines)

2) She isn't aware of x

3) Something is keeping her or others from being aware of x

4) She is really confused and out of touch with reality, and yet doesn't know that she is

Of course I'm not perfect, so I might forget to add in something minor or what not, but in general I hope you'll assume there is a reason for her not to for ex. immediately be sensed by the Doctor. I just thought I would mention it because unlike a novel you won't be able to get all the answers right away. You'll be dependent on my posting for your answers (Mwahahaha).

As a side note I'm American so I'll probably use American slang instead of British by accident. So if I say elevator instead of lift, try your best to move on.

Also, no Beta, so yeah.

8888 Chapter 1- Lucy

One day I was here and everything was different.

My first sight was the reflection of a shop window; I saw a faded person staring back at me. Everything had become a disturbing pale. I looked like a ghost. My hair was such a light blonde that it was near white; my eyes were a fragile looking gray.

I was horrified and confused.

I looked at the people passing by and saw them raise their eyebrows as they noticed me. I wanted to scream but I felt like there was no longer oxygen in my lungs. I could only gasp at the pedestrian's like a fish out of water. I watched as they gave me a wide berth.

I do not know how long I stood there dazed nor when I started walking away from the shop front window.

At some point I heard men yelling in a pub. Their accents jarred me though I did not know why. I felt that if I spoke my own would be different, but at the same time I felt that it shouldn't.

I eventually sat down on a bench who-knows-where. It was dark and cold out. I started to feel numb both inside and without.

I felt something warm slide over my shoulders and I tilted my head back to see who had put a coat on me.

"You bad, bad girl." He said. "How many times have I heard, 'that's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happening', and you're sending me around to prevent them using post-it notes."

"Uh…"

I watched warily as he moved around the bench and sat down next to me. I was able to see that he had things pinned to his braces. One of them was a button that said, 'PULL TO OPEN'. I could not see the rest; no matter how hard I tried to focus on them, my eyes kept automatically moving away from the sight.

"I know you have no idea what's going on, and I'm sorry but I can't tell you much of anything, save for that I _am_ Jack and you _are_ in the Doctor's universe."

I shook my head disbelievingly. I could not get myself to say anything; I was so shaken by his manifestation before me. I knew that there was no way an actor was mucking about and pranking me, especially given my appearance and location changing without my notice. I could not convince myself I was dreaming or in a coma either. I had felt the cold wind and the hard wood beneath me. This was real life.

"I wish I could tell you…" He looked at something far past my shoulder. "I know you're scared but you need to get up and find your way to Central London."

"Why?" I was finally able to rasp out.

"Why do you think? Because the Doctor will be there soon of course! You need to get your way onto the Tardis, and I can't help you with that."

I heard something crunch behind me softly (like frosted grass being walked on) and I could feel someone there, but Jack swiftly seized my face with his hands and did not let me look to see who it was. I felt someone gently touch my hair and sensed that something was placed on the bench next to me. Jack had his eyes averted so that I could not use their reflection to see who it was. He did not release me for several minutes, but he did meet my gaze after the person's footfalls could no longer be heard. His blue eyes had swirls of gold in them which seemed to move as I stared into them intensely. He winked and released me.

"You'll find that this universe is different from what you know. Colors, flavors, sounds… This isn't the first time you've admired my spectacular eyes. But you'll see all that for yourself soon enough." He clapped his hands once then rubbed them together excitedly. "Let's see what your presents are."

Next to me was a big blue box. Like a big clothing box, not the Tardis. I just stared at it. Jack breathed out a laugh.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you didn't instantly tear open a gift like it contained the last bottle of water, and you were trapped on Mars. I always figured it was common trait of-"

He stopped himself from continuing with a brash laugh and grabbed the box himself to divert one or both of us.

Within the box was money, a navy warm coat, and a key attached by string to a piece of paper with an address written on it.

A black cab pulled up on the street adjacent to them and the driver looked right at her expectantly.

"Well it looks like your all set." He grinned brightly at me and indicated the coat. "Trade you."

The coat was warmer than his greatcoat. There was a note in the pocket of the coat written in the same hand as that which was printed on the paper attached to the key.

It said:

Give the driver the address on the key.

It will be your residence.

_For now. _

Merry Christmas.

"It's Christmas?" I asked.

"Yep. Bit of a wait for you I'm afraid, but at least you'll wait in style, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's a nice place." He shrugged. "Well you should be heading off now. A new life is waiting for you."

I looked at the driver who had started fiddling with the radio.

"Don't worry." He said as he put the money in my coat pockets; pockets which should have been too small to hold all of it as if they were empty. "There will always be at least…well you'll be looked after."

"That seems creepy."

"You have no idea."

8888

"Lucy Louringtide," A smarmy voice called out behind me. "Have you ever seen a more delicate rose, boys?"

I ignored the voice and the subsequent catcalls of Isaac and his detestable mob of overindulged collegiate friends.

Two months before I had been resolutely shunted into the back of a black cab by an overzealous 51st century man, who actively ignored all the questions I had after he emptied the contents of a big box into my bigger-on-the-inside coat pockets, and proceeded to smile very cheekily at me as the cab pulled away from the curb towards my new living space. I heard him yell, "Don't take off the necklace", but I was not wearing one.

As I sat there fuming I realized that he had thrown an envelope on the floor in front of me. Within was, to my astonishment, identification which included the necessary accompanying photos. I stared down at the images of my own paled face staring unsmilingly back at me. I had not even had the chance to process my new look, and here it was on legitimate credentials.

Furthermore, to my extreme confusion, the name printed on them was not my own. 'Lucy Louringtide', was signed so convincingly in my own handwriting that I could have believed it was genuine if I were someone else.

I had no one to question about these items and honestly, given my situation, they did not really matter. I determinedly shrugged off the strangeness of the items in my hands, and instead considered the questions of more consequence.

I was in a place that had not existed for me, or anyone I knew, but had inhabited the predominantly fictional space that was television. I had appeared here with no warning, in an altered state, with no memory as to the events leading up to my arrival. Somehow, a formerly fictional character together with an unknown person found and aided me, and by some means knew of my arrival.

Indeed, this foreknowledge of my arrival was evidenced by the flat that was set up in advance. The lease owner of the flat I lived in was mysteriously aware of who I was, my ride and rent were already paid for, and my flat was stocked with _way_ too many banana themed products.

With my reluctant acceptance of the fact that I was in the universe of Doctor Who, these facts all led to the same conclusion; The Doctor himself played a major role in the events of that first day.

What the events leading up to it were, or the problems that went along with it, I knew not. I only knew that everything was prepared for and ready for me, all the problems were solved before they could occur, and all my worries were put to rest before I could become truly troubled.

I was not entirely aware of these things being the case, but every once in a while I would worry about something and realize that I had the solution too easily already in front of me.

At one point I was concerned by the thought that the owner of the book store I frequented had become too interested in my past, but before I could really be bothered by the idea, he had moved away. A similar situation occurred with the woman who ran the skating rink I liked to go to on Sundays. I thought maybe I was just paranoid because nothing bad seemed to come from their insistent questions.

I was almost truly worried at one point because I was nearly approached by UNIT on the Tuesday of the first week of my arrival. I had felt that something was outside that might be trouble for me so I looked out the window and saw their vehicles. They seemed prepared to cause me many problems, but as I watched them approach my flat, the leader suddenly called everyone away. He seemed almost scared. I have never since been bothered by them so I put it out of my mind.

Overall I have not had any valid worries. No one seemed to know I was here other than Jack and co.

(So in this way I never faced any of the danger that persisted around me from the moment I arrived.)

My weeks were generally similar in that I went to the same places nearly on the same days. More recently I had been visiting Henrick's in order to familiarize myself with the area. I knew that eventually I would have to be prepared to meet the Doctor and be remarkable enough to get an invite onto the Tardis. The downside to going to that more populated area was that I often encountered people, mostly of the male sort like Isaac, who wanted to mess with me because of how I looked.

Whenever people saw me they would raise their eyebrows at my appearance, looking me up and down, and then they would get a strange look on their faces. I cannot name it but I assumed it was loathing or some other ugly emotion.

Many times men have walked up to me and asked me rude personal questions, even going so far as to ask me for my number. I do not understand how they would think I would want to be mocked over the phone if I would not tolerate it in public. I had enough of that drivel in high school.

It seemed that on this particular Thursday, Isaac had decided to be determined to ruin my day as he ran in front of me suddenly so that I would have to climb over a barrier to pass him. I was prepared to accept the challenge when he spoke.

"Lucy, you are looking very spirited today." He looked me up and down slowly, way too slowly for my comfort.

Of the clothing that was in the closet of my flat when I first arrived, I had developed a preference for wearing the darker colored ones in the hopes that the no doubt alarming contrast between dark and pale would deter people from speaking to me._ I_ certainly still found my appearance disconcerting. Unfortunately I received so many double, and even triple takes, that it seemed almost not worth it to bother. Isaac in particular seemed to leer at me more than most.

"I do not know what that means when you say it." I told him before approaching the black cab that had conveniently been nearby.

I heard him lumbering after me but I was already in the cab before he could even yammer something else at me. I was distracted from his calls of who-cares by a movement in the shop window of a nearby clothing boutique. As the cab moved away I stared in disbelief as the shop dummy seemed to move its head in my direction.

I had not thought that the Nestene Consciousness had arrived so soon before the Doctor.

8888

The next day when I passed by that same shop I surreptitiously glanced at the window to see if it was a temporary possession by the Nestene or a sign that the invasion would begin sooner, only to see that the dummy was gone and the glass on the shop front was broken.

When I asked the shop girl what had happened she gave me a look over, as was expected, and told me that some nutter had broken in and stole the dummy that was used to display the boutique's particular selection of popular fashion.

Then she tried to sell me a very low cut top. _Honestly._

Given that I could not really do much investigating by myself, seeing as how_ I_ did not bounce about with a sonic screwdriver handy unlike _some_ people, I decided to head to Henrick's to see if any dummies moved there. I was pretty certain that in this part of London the local plastic was being controlled by a relay device in the roof of Henrick's. At least they will be anyway. So if there was a persistent source of Auton activity it would be there.

I was in ladies wear looking at what one of the dummies was wearing as much as the dummy itself when I felt eyes on my back. I looked behind me and saw, of all people, Mickey Smith. I thought that maybe he was here to pick up Rose for their typical lunch in Trafalgar Square.

I usually did not go to this section of the store so I had never interacted with Rose, though I knew that that would be an eventuality of traveling with the Doctor. Wretched as it may seem, I found Rose to be very intimidating, so I kept to the bath and linen section. There was a very nice lady named Caron working there who helped me find bath things that did not make me smell like I grew up in a banana grove.

I was surprised that when I met Mickey's eyes he did not look away, but seemed to take that as an invitation to come closer and chat me up.

"Hey, you a model or something?" He asked me and I felt my brain implode for an instant.

Something I knew for certain about Mickey Smith was that he started out as a selfish man-child, though a dopey and well-meaning one, and that many hints had been dropped that he had a penchant for flirting with girls despite being with Rose. I remembered several people characterizing him a person who deserved to lose his girlfriend. So as he winked at me, and leaned a _little_ too close for someone who was in a relationship with a _very_ possessive girl, I felt the need to _run-oh-my-god_. Luckily, or unluckily as the case may be, I heard a very livid voice say "What the hell!"

Mickey shot back from me saying "Babe, it's not what it looks like."

I did not stick around to listen to the ensuing argument, though I thought I heard Rose yelling some very unflattering things at my back as I hurried to the bath and linens section.

"Oi! Tyler, shut your gob!" Someone yelled from men's wear.

I spent the next hour ducking behind things as first Rose came marching over to look for me, and then I had to listen to her get reamed by her manager for disturbing the customers and swearing in the middle of the store like a mad woman. All the while she kept looking for me with an expression on her face that spelled trouble. She was not the first girl in my life who had gotten it into her head that I had grievously offended her in some way and deserved to be pommeled for it.

Eventually she was told to go on break and I heard her make a loud noise to show her frustration at the situation. I saw her push Mickey out of the way as she flew out the front doors of the store. He followed after her like a puppy and I sighed in relief. I heard the manager and Caron laughing about teenagers.

I saw a mirror in the nearby shoe department that was used for looking at yourself to see if you liked how the shoes looked on you. I moved a little so that I could fully see myself in front of it, though I was still far enough away that I looked like a weird gnome, and gave myself a once over. I rolled my eyes and thought that Mickey had strange tastes.

The reflection of the dummy behind me showed that it had moved its head toward me so that it looked like someone with a broken neck.

I could have won a medal for speed walking.

8888

Once I knew that the Nestene was active, though I could not determine whether it was too soon or not, I began to spend more time at Henrick's in order to figure out if I should be worried. This led to a game of sorts of me avoiding Rose, who did not want to avoid me, while trying not to blatantly stare at dummies. If someone were to have looked at me they would have found me staring impassively at my reflection in a nearby mirror, in which I was really staring at a dummy.

I did this every day for a week when the store was open, at times when I thought Rose might have taken one of her breaks and would not be waiting for me, until I would get bored and go to the cinema or the café down the street.

At least once a day while I was there I was able to see Auton activity. They would only move when I was the only one who would notice, but they never made any attempts to attack me. They all just stared.

But after a week I got tired of feeling glares of hatred hitting the back of my head, and it was the weekend anyway, so I made the executive decision to forego going to the store.

Instead I went to the museum where I was shocked to notice movements in some of the displays which I thought were made of wax and bits. There is nothing as peculiar as realizing you are being ogled by an historical figure.

As I ate ice-cream in the museum's food court café, I pondered on how far the Nestene's influence was even this early in the month. In the show there was no mention of other relays but there very well could have been. The Doctor would appear at Henrick's on the twenty-sixth, but there was no evidence that disputed my thoughts that maybe he spent more time than a day destroying relays all over London.

I did not know how to confirm this theory since his flashiest display would be at Henrick's. I might have even hypothesized that, had Rose not been present and begging to be impressed, Henrick's could have been spared the indignity of being propelled in all directions.

8888

I eventually got tired of being stared at by Autons and decided to go to my flat and vegetate. Normally I liked to take the time at the end of the day to do some mindless dancing while I tried on the clothing that I never wore out in public, but lately I would be interrupted by the radio suddenly losing contact with the tower and going mostly silent. Since my radio seemed to not be working I figured I would just flip through a novel and surf the internet.

In my down time I had taken to web browsing, looking for any traces of alien activity that would perhaps help me find the Doctor. I did not know if I would be able to make it onto the Tardis at the same time as Rose did, given I did not work at Henrick's and Rose would definitely keep me from snooping about after hours if she could. I swear though, I would never have guessed how persistently antagonizing she could be based on what the show revealed about her. Of course I knew from interviews that she was intended to be a selfish, possessive, and bratty character, but the show made her someone you wanted to root for. Though I had found her to be reminiscent of the ruthless girls who made _my_ life hell, even I had been sad when she was separated from the Doctor. Now I had become more intimidated by her than I was before. I would even say I had become rather frightened of her.

About four days before, I had inadvertently been entering the store just at the moment when she was going on break. It was the first time I had been face to face with her since the incident with Mickey. Fortunately Mickey himself was not there. I can only imagine what would have happened if the catalyst for her anger towards me had been egging her on with his presence.

As it was she froze for a second when she first saw me. During that second I had the horrible realization that we were not within the store, and so she might feel that it was a good opportunity to _give me a slap_. Then she began to close the distance between us. I heard a voice yell, "Tyler!", and was able to duck into the store when she turned to see who had called her name.

For the next few days she did not try and approach me again but, as I said, she would take every opportunity to glare at me if I was in sight.

When I got to my flat, I thought I was going to have a heart attack, my heart beat so fast. In front of my flat was a big blue box, and this time it _was_ the Tardis.

I walked up to it and brushed my hand over the sign. I knocked and the door opened.

Inside was exactly as seen on the television, and at the same time completely different.

Jack had been right when he said that I would see, taste, and hear things that I had never in my memory done before. He did not mention other senses but they were altered as well. I supposed he did not want to dump a weight of information on me when things were crazy enough. But it is not like I had been bombarded with sights, sounds etc to the point of incoherency; instead it was more like what I imagine birth would be like for a baby. Suddenly everything seems to come at you, and you cry, but then you snuggle up under a blanket, eat something, and move on.

The interior of the Tardis challenged all my senses with what I had never sensed before. Colors swarmed along the coral pillars that I had never knew existed. I heard the song of the Tardis which had never been present on the show. I could smell and taste something like life or time or both fluctuating around me, through me. I touched the coral and it felt warm and cold, soft and hard, and like words I did not know. I felt the hum of the Tardis in my mind like a welcome home. It was not like words but I understood her as if her language was my own.

She was in me now, forever.

Though the door opened for me, it was not the Doctor who did it. No one but me was in the console room so it was most likely the Tardis herself who was responsible.

"Where is the Doctor?" I asked her though she could not answer in me in words.

I was struck with the feeling of a shrug, but not an '_I don't know'_ shrug. It was more like an '_It's a secret' _shrug. She was playing coy when I knew for a fact she was as brazen as they come.

I shrugged myself and hopped onto the jump seat. It is not like I had anything better to do.

I must have been there twenty minutes before the Doctor reentered his Tardis. At first he did not register me even though I did not blend in at all. In fact he had moved all the way to the console, his eyes on me subconsciously aware of my presence, before he stopped and his jaw dropped.

"_How did you get in here?"_ He asked clearly frazzled. He had already pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and was scanning me with it, before he had even finished the question. He gave the readings a confused look which quickly changed to suspicion directed straight at me.

"Who are you? _What are you?_"

"Knocked? Lucy…? _Human_…?" Each word was said more timidly than the last. I began to think that perhaps it was not such a great idea to have just walked right into the Tardis by myself.

"Knocked?" He scanned the door, but the readings did not seem to give him any of the answers he wanted.

Instead he got _really_ _intense_, and I quickly found myself handcuffed to the jump seat before I could even get out an, "Oi!"

"What is your full name?" He moved to the console screen and typed my name in when I told him. As he waited for the results to show up he leaned against the console, arms crossed, scrutinizing me. The results seemed to come abnormally fast, because I saw the Doctor raise an eyebrow in confusion as he turned towards the screen.

I moved my head to see what appeared on the screen that he blocked with his body.

I am not even kidding when I say that it said, "Mind your own business, Thief", along with a box-like emoticon [:-D].

I would not have thought that the Tardis could communicate like that. She certainly did not on the show. I even remember her being so happy that she could say 'Hello'.

The Doctor seemed to take a step back mentally. I wondered if he was shocked that the Tardis told him to mind his own business.

He stared at the screen for three long minutes, and then physically took a step back. He turned to me slowly and looked at me with an expression I could not read as he said, "According to this, you're lying."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up as he lied to me. I wondered why he would lie when I could plainly read the results of his investigation clear as day.

"You are the one lying." I said back, very sassily if I do say so myself.

"Why did you knock? Why did you wander right into a strange alien ship?" He asked instead.

"The door says 'advice and assistance obtainable immediately'. The next step seemed logical. And the door did open directly after…"

"Oh, lovely, why not let in all the strays?" He said to the Tardis, rather hypocritically. Then he looked me straight in the eyes. "Are you not even shocked?" He indicated my surroundings.

"Not shocked, no. The plastic moves. Everywhere I go, they _look_ at me. The shop dummies, and the museum pieces that have plastic in them, and who knows what else. Next to that your ship is a rather nice change."

"I know. Why do you think I'm here? There's some sort of attraction drawing them to this spot. I'm surprised you noticed it though 'cos mostly you lot don't like to notice much more beyond yourselves." He did not really seem to be talking to me so much as thinking aloud.

Then his gaze got really intense and he soniced me again. When the readings still seemed to confuse him he just stared at me.

Finally he asked me "Is that _your_ flat that the Tardis is parked in front of then?" He jerked his head in the general direction of my flat.

"The Tardis?" I asked him though I knew the answer.

"My ship. It's called the Tardis. S. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space. You're inside her."

"Yes. That's my flat."

"I wouldn't stay there anymore if I were you. It's overrun by plastic now. Could get dangerous."

"What do you mean 'overrun'? Were you in my flat?" I could picture the Doctor riffling through my things, seeing what I read and what I had in my closet and cupboards, eating my bananas, and generally making a mess. I could even imagine him 'borrowing' things, the klepto.

"Are you in my ship, uninvited?" He shot back. "I don't think you humans realize how invaded your lives have become by your precious plastics. It's everywhere. Now there's something ready to control every single piece of plastic and take over. Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables…"

"Why are they interested in me?

"That's a good question."

"What's the answer?"

"No idea."

After a couple of minutes of just being intensely stared at, he removed the handcuffs.

"I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Charmed, I'm sure."

"I should hope so." He said before smiling and moving back to lean casually against the console to face me. "Are you sure you're human?"

I felt my eyebrows shot up again. "What else would I be?"

"Don't know, but you don't seem human." He cocked his head and considered me. "You're different somehow."

"Because I am strange looking?"

His eyebrows moved up. "Not to me." He considered me again. "Not generally."

I did not know what that was supposed to mean. It sounded sort of insulting though. Instead I asked "If this alien is so powerful, why has it been hanging about for so long without trying to take over?"

"It's all alone. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted. It shunted to Earth half-starved. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Earth becomes dinner. But it'll take a while to regain its strength."

"And could we not be peaceful with it? Perhaps make some sort of peace agreement? It gets the toxins and dioxins, and we get left unharmed."

"That's a nice thought, but no. It would overwhelm the planet within months. I need to find it and convince it to leave. I've been going around destroying the relays, looking for something I can use to trace the signal back to the original source."

"What if it tells _you _to shunt back off the planet?"

The Doctor pulled out a tube of blue liquid and held it up. "Anti-plastic."

"That will kill it?"

"More or less, but I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance. But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Is it really that big an alien?"

"Yeah, but I was talking about the transmitter it needs to boost the signal. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London."

"What like the London Eye?"

His face went slack as the idea seemed to cause his brain to put on the brakes to all manner of thought. Then he grinned at me and called out, "Fantastic!"

I watched him run around the console pressing buttons, pulling levers, and felt as the Tardis started to shake. I could only cling to the jump seat as I felt the Tardis move from one place to another. After the shaking stopped I saw the Doctor grin at me.

"You really sure you're human? I only ask 'cos you seem too clever."

"That is a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one."

He only grinned again and moved to stand in front of me. He held out his hand and said "Lucy Louringtide, your name sounds like a super hero, so you might as well help defend Earth."

I grinned back and allowed him to pull me off the jump seat and out of the Tardis.

We were close enough to the eye that I could see the people inside. I had not been on it myself, and I suddenly wanted to, especially now that I knew I would not get the chance if I stayed with the Doctor.

"The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." He said as we leaned against the nearby parapet.

I pointed over the parapet where I saw a large manhole entrance at the bottom of the steps.

"Looks good to me." He shrugged nonchalantly.

When the Doctor opened up the hatch there was red light inside, and we were hit with the smell of burning plastic, alongside the typical smell of the under city. I made a face at the Doctor and he laughed. We climbed down a short ladder into a brick-built area with lots of chains. From there we went through a door and down a flight of steps into a multi-level chamber.

"The Nestene Consciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature." He pointed to a seething vat with something flexing feebly around inside it.

The Doctor was right when he said it arrived half-starved. It certainly looked like it was ready to keel over and die. Definitely nowhere near ready for world domination.

"It looks sick." I said as I subtly looked around for any dummies. I did not see them, but that did not mean that they were not already there. "And scared."

"It's terrified." He seemed dejected. I knew he was. He knew exactly how the Nestene felt.

All alone, and not knowing what to do but lash out to try and survive.

"Will it attack you then?" I asked, knowing that that would be a natural response from anything alone and afraid.

He considered the idea. "Don't know, probably."

"And you are not worried?" I asked skeptically.

"I have the advantage if you recall." He said patting his leather jacket.

"Do you? I would not say a cornered mouse was sure to die from the cat that trapped it there." I looked down at the vat and arched my eyebrow as I watched as the Nestene writhed inside. "How do you know there are no dummies hiding in wait for some sucker to turn their back?"

"That's a good point. I don't. What do you suggest?"

"I have never tried to convince someone to do something they did not want to do, but if I had to do so I would prefer this situation. It is still too soon for the Nestene to be strong enough to launch a full scale invasion, and though I do not know what it _can_ do, I imagine it is more willing to listen because of that fact. Your ship is superior technology?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What would you do if faced by the proverbial cat? If you were hanging around my flat of which, as you said, it has made itself at home, than it knows all about you. It might be better if you do not get too close to it."

"Oh, and you have a plan?"

"Eh." I moved my hand in a so-so motion. "Stay here, would you."

I walked down to a catwalk overlooking the seething vat before he could protest.

"Um, hey." I said to the alien in the vat. I heard the Doctor say something behind me about apes that I will not repeat. "Um, I know you are all alone and scared but, could you please not invade my planet? That is really rude."

"It probably can't hear your timid little voice from up here." The Doctor said and looked like he wanted to interfere.

"Doctor, stop backseat driving."

"First time you say my name and it includes criticism."

"It is well deserved and overdue, I'm sure." I replied archly and he laughed.

A sort of face formed in the vat of plastic and I heard it make a weak groan.

"It knows I'm here." I heard the uneasiness in the Doctor's voice.

I said to the Nestene "Yes, I brought a friend, but we are not here to attack you. We just want you to leave the planet before you cause damage."

The Nestene grumbled out what sounded like, "I can be here too."

"The Doctor says you will overwhelm the planet. If that were not the case I know that there could be compromise, but since it is true you have to go to keep the people safe. I know that is not fair to you but the alternative is war. No one will take kindly to an invasion. Eventually you will be killed."

The Nestene thrashed in the vat irritably as it said, "I know of war. Your _friend_ let my people die."

"That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" The Doctor yelled after he ran to stand beside me.

I felt like groaning. The Doctor had started to get emotional, and when he got emotional he stopped thinking clearly. He stopped paying attention.

I saw the dummies approach from behind him from where they had stood under the catwalk.

"Stop," I said to them sternly. Then I turned back to the Nestene once the Doctor turned to the Autons himself, prepared to fight them off if necessary. "You cannot win a war, not alone and in the state you are in, you know that."

The Nestene yelled, "You are my enemies! You came here to kill me!"

"I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not." The Doctor seemed to become tremendously agitated.

Things had not gone how he must have imagined they would. He always went into the fray with the self-made delusion that he could somehow make everything all better. He was an optimist. Of course that did not mean that he had no plans for the worst case scenario, but it was obvious in the times he waited too long for the bad guy to change his ways how unwilling he was to let his delusion die.

That was why he was his most dangerous when he gave up on you.

The Nestene roared at the Doctor, "I have seen your ship you liar!"

"Why would the Nestene think you are its enemy when you clearly could have attacked it right away if you wanted to?" I asked the Doctor. I wondered if I was the only one thinking clearly.

"It's the Tardis! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified." _He_ looked terrified as he spoke.

"You both need to calm down." I gave both the Doctor and the Nestene exasperated looks. "What good does it do either of you to screech back and forth at each other like a couple of old biddies?"

"Oi!" I ignored the Doctor.

The Nestene did not respond, but the Autons did not try and move closer, so I figured it was thinking. "Time Lord." It said after a minute. It seemed a little calmer.

"My name is The Doctor. I swear, I'm not your enemy." He placed his full attention on the Nestene, so I kept vigilant just in case in his stead.

"Your people killed everyone. You did. You're a murderer."

"I know. I know!" He placed a hand to his temple like he was developing a headache. "I never wanted this."

"I cannot trust you, but your female says you are only seeking a peaceful way."

I saw the Doctor look at me bashfully. "I _am_ only seeking peace. I know a safe place where you can go. I can show you. We don't have to fight."

"There is nothing left…" The Nestene seemed to deflate all of a sudden, its face returning to the vat with the rest of it.

The Doctor cried out, "No! Stop!" The Nestene's color started to decay from golden orange to a putrid looking black. It began to look less tangible as it started to steam like it was rapidly cooling. Then there was no movement or sound; only the toxic vapors floating from the vat were what remained of the life that had been inside.

The Autons behind us staggered and then fell over, now lifeless.

The Doctor looked devastated.

8888

The Tardis appeared inside of my flat. I walked out to hear the radio on. There was no music but it was making the usual sounds it did when it lost contact with the radio tower.

"Did you leave my radio on?" I called out at him as I walked over to it, fiddling with the dials.

"I didn't touch it." I heard him say behind me as he walked out of the Tardis to look at the date on my digital calendar. "March 11…bit off. You don't have some boring job that would miss you for a week, do you?"

I had spent the last day and a half helping the Doctor track down the rest of the relays, and destroying them, so that some hapless person would not stumble on one accidentally. In which time I had been informed of the abilities of the Tardis, time and space wise, and so it was perfectly safe for me to call back, "No, do you? I'd imagine you miss all sorts of meetings with your poor driving skills."

"I'll have you know, I'm only partly at fault when I miss meetings."

"So the Tardis is your boss then?"

"_No_." He replied petulantly.

"Uh huh."

"_She's not_."

I was stopped from responding when the radio suddenly made a loud noise, sparked, and then all noise from it died out.

I jumped back from it, my heart racing way too fast for my liking.

Unlike when it happened before, I had no Tardis to distract me, so I noticed that the rhythm was strange and seemed to radiate all over my chest. Then it calmed down and I could no longer feel its beat.

"Looks like you need a new radio." The Doctor said from where he had moved beside me. "Or, I don't know, you could come with me. What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere in the universe free of charge."

8888

As I was packing up some things to take with me, I realized that I had inadvertently taken Rose's place on the Tardis. Worse than that, I did not know what the repercussions would be. Bad Wolf could not happen without her, but if I had caused any major damage Jack would have said something, or given me a hint at the least.

I did not know how to fix this though. Henrick's was still in existence, not that Rose enjoyed her job, but it was one more reason for her to stay. With me traveling with him, the Doctor would have been unlikely to come back for her if she had said no to him even if she had been involved from the start. My very presence seemed to negate the chance of hers on the Tardis.

But I could not, nor would I, take back anything. Jack said I needed to get onto the Tardis so I did. End of story.

Perhaps Rose would find her way onto the Tardis on some other adventure and Bad Wolf would still happen. I am not a fortune teller so I stopped trying to think on coulda, woulda, shoulda's.

Honestly, I was glad. Though Rose frightened me, I did not consider her a villainess, but she made the Doctor more dangerous than she did better. Best if I took her role and helped him recover without the whole messy love business, and left all _that_ to River Song.


End file.
